Windows 8 Bible

Help from People

When you can’t figure something out by guessing, usually your next thought is to call someone on the phone. Whether that strategy works depends on whom you call. Many of the larger companies charge for telephone support, and it can be quite expensive, especially if you don’t know all the terminology. When you don’t know the terminology, it’s hard to ask the question and even harder to understand the answer.

You have some online alternatives to using the phone that enable you to get help from another person without spending a fortune. Clicking the Contact Support link in Help And Support shows these alternatives (see Figure 7.6). Click the link in each section to get more information about the selected option.

FIGURE 7.6 Resources for live help

Remote Assistance

Remote Assistance is a technology that allows another person to see what’s on your computer screen and operate your computer with his or her mouse and keyboard. The idea here is to turn control of your computer over to a trusted expert to resolve your problem.

We’re not aware of any companies that will connect to and fix your computer for free, but your company may have an internal support group that provides that service. For home computers, your trusted expert will likely be a knowledgeable friend or family member. For more information, see “Using Remote Assistance” in Chapter 20, “Using Computers Remotely.” ...